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Heatherwick reveals Shanghai pavilion

1 July, 2009 | By Christopher Sell

Thomas Heatherwick has revealed the final design for the British Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo in 2010

The £13.2 million six-storey structure will feature 60,000 transparent acrylic rods, which will move with air currents, providing a ‘textured’ appearance. Each rod is 7.5 metres long and will be attached to a plywood and glulam ‘box’ at the centre of the building, which will form the interior of the pavilion.

The original competition-winning design, which was unveiled in September 2007, was the centre of safety concerns over the proposed materials used. However, speaking to the AJ, Heatherwick said: ‘Every project goes through changes. The design has been settled for over a year now. It is challenging, but it would be a bigger risk not to do anything creative or difficult.’

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